A PTI blog technique this week in Make It Monday #228...Lizzie Jones shows how she used Perfect Pearls to add a pearlised finish to her image. Click on the link to visit the blog, or watch the video above...​I have often been a little disappointed to discover that dry Perfect Pearls, when added to a project, can rub off and smear onto other portions of the project over time, or when in the envelope, despite the recommended spritzing of fine water spray over the finished image. I hoped this technique may solve that issue for me. I decided to add another Christmas card to the pile. (Thinks: I must get the Caring Hearts pile posted off soon!).

I used Distress inks on the ornament images, rather than the PTI inks, as demonstrated, and this may have altered the outcome a little, as I found the PP gleam spread outside the image edges when buffing gently...but I was able to buff most of the stray gleam off the white card front again, by buffing into the image rather than off the edges as I had been doing. Also I found that by buffing a little harder on the edges, I was able to uncover the more intense colour underneath the PP which added a nice edge to the image. I also added some glitter over tiny dabs of Glossy Accents, drew on some ornament strings and added a pine sprig die cut to complete the card.

All in all this technique gets a thumbs up from me and I will add the photo to the link up...I hesitated because the only PTI items I used were PTI papers...but I guess that still qualifies my entering.I really liked her suggestion of using vellum as the mask, it worked brilliantly. I have a wodge of A5 vellum sheets (with tiny silver hearts over it), that I picked up from a bargain bin somewhere ages ago and rarely use, so it now has a fine purpose! I am about to add to the pile with a couple more Christmas cards, this time using PTI inks, just to see if there is a difference.

You cannot see the gleam of the PP in this pic, but it is certainly there when you tilt the card into the light. It reminds me of the old style glass Christmas baubles we put on the tree when I was a child, they had a sort of dusty gold patina...

I did try using refill Versamark ink without much success, I got a better result when using the Versamark ink pad...